‘News flash, Nick − we’re getting a new boss.’ Nick Ikaros looked up from his computer. Randi Lake leaned against the doorframe of his office, twisting a lock of dark hair around her delicate fingers. Tall and pale, she favoured the sixties look: oversized glasses and long, dark sweaters over black tights. Plus shitkicking black […]

There was giraffe snot on my hand and I must have been smiling because Mum was smiling back at me with my shaped grin. Not hers. Two years before that, I handed Mum a picture of a reindeer that I’d drawn and stood back to await approval. She said it was an excellent giraffe. I […]

The train doors hissed like a soft drink can, spilling passengers out of the carriage. Through the platform speakers, a sweet-sounding woman said something about standing back from the doors in a British accent before repeating it in Cantonese. An office man balancing a briefcase in the air almost elbowed Dandaulo in the eye. ‘Hey, […]

The world’s unhappiest billionaire was born on 12 April 1974, in a hospital in Vienna. He was named Markus. His mother was named Katja. His father remained at home. Home was number thirty-seven Neugrabenstrasse, an inauspicious flat on the top floor of a Viennese suburb. The flat may as well have been the entire world, […]

It’s March and still the snow is falling, thick sooty flakes of it. It settles on heaps of slush, growing out of the ground like mould. Treacherous grey puddles line the road and a passing lorry leaves Vasilisa drenched. The driver speeds away and Vasilisa gives him the finger. She knows that in his rear-view […]

Bob Beach spent many years as a writer and designer for print in advertising and enjoyed careers as a film director, marketing consultant and fine artist. He also taught for many years at Bowling Green State University. He holds BSc and MFA degrees from Bowling Green State University, Ohio, and is currently enrolled in the […]

Polis Loizou is the author of A Good Year, a Fairlight Moderns novella publishing on 01 April 2022. Polis is a novelist, playwright, filmmaker and performance storyteller. Born and raised in Cyprus, he moved to the UK in 2001. His debut novel Disbanded Kingdom was published by Cloud Lodge Books in 2018 and went on to […]

Clare O’Dea is the author of Voting Day a Fairlight Moderns novella publishing on 01 April, 2022. Originally from Dublin, Clare O’Dea has lived in Switzerland since 2003. After studying French and Russian at Trinity College Dublin, she had a varied media career in Ireland, with a freelance stint in Russia. Clare worked for the state […]

Amy Lilwall was born and raised in the South East of England. She spent a few years in France and Cornwall, then moved to Lincoln where she teaches Creative Writing. Amy started writing seriously when she studied for her MA in Creative Writing at the University of Kent. She went on to do a PhD […]

J. G. Jesman is a Malawian-British author and animator who has always enjoyed storytelling through various mediums. He has been writing all of his life, creating stories through comics, animations, movies and songs. J.G. holds a Master’s Degree in Film and Media. He has written a collection of short stories and a novella, and is […]